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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jul 3.
Published in final edited form as: Circ Res. 2015 Jul 3;117(2):207–219. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.305205

Table 2.

Benefits of Formal Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Training Programs

Improvement in exercise capacity

  1. Estimated Metabolic Equivalents +35%

  2. Peak Oxygen Consumption +15%

  3. Peak anaerobic threshold + 11%

Improvement in lipid profiles

  1. Total cholesterol −5%

  2. Triglycerides −15%

  3. HDL-C +6% (higher in patients with low baseline)

  4. LDL-C −2%

  5. LDL-C/HDL-C −5% (higher in certain subgroups)

Reduction in inflammation (hs-CRP −40%)
Reduction in indices of obesity

  1. BMI −1.5%

  2. % Fat −5%

  3. Metabolic syndrome −37%

Improvements in behavioral characteristics

  1. Depression

  2. Anxiety

  3. Hostility

  4. Somatization

  5. Overall psychological distress

  6. Reduction in stress-related increased mortality

Improvements in quality of life and components
Improvement in autonomic tone

  1. Increased heart rate recovery

  2. Increased heart rate variability

  3. Reduced resting pulse

H. Improvements in blood rheology
I. Reduction in hospitalization costs
J. Reduction in major morbidity and mortality

BMI = body mass index; hs-CRP = high sensitivity C-reactive protein; HDL-C = high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; LDL-C = low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol.

Adapted from Swift DL et al. 3